President George W. Bush has signed into law the 2006 Transportation Appropriations Act, which includes $2.3 million in funding for a project to replace the two-lane Leeville Bridge and a portion of LA 1 Highway 1 in southern Lafourche Parish, a critical link in America's energy supply.

"For nearly a decade, the LA 1 Coalition has worked closely with our Congressional delegation and members from across the country to secure much-needed federal support for the LA 1 highway system, a corridor not only important for our region and state, but critical to our entire nation," says LA 1 Coalition Executive Director Henri Boulet. "We are grateful for the diligent efforts of Senators Landrieu and Vitter and Congressman Melancon to once again successfully direct needed funding to the LA 1 Improvement Project."

With allocations of $800,000 for a new, fixed-level bridge over Bayou in Leeville and $1.5 million for a new, elevated highway from Golden Meadow to Port Fourchon, the transportation appropriations package provides essential funds that will allow this critical national infrastructure project to proceed as planned. The LA 1 Corridor and Port Fourchon service approximately 17 percent of the nation's entire supply of oil and natural gas, and continued deterioration of the existing at-grade, two-lane highway put this energy supply at great risk.

Inclusion in the 2006 Transportation Bill is another milestone in the history of the LA 1 Coalition and the LA 1 Improvement Project. In 2001, LA 1 was designated by Congress as a High-Priority Corridor, one of only 44 such highways in the country. The project's EIS Record of Decision was signed in 2003, years ahead of the national average, and a national organization of state highway officials presented the LA 1 Project Team with its President's Award for Environment in 2004.

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Press contact:
Henri Boulet, LA 1 Coalition
985.448.4485